poetry/fiction by jaslyn

A Preview

The story centers around Kylin, Bean (Isaiah), chameleons, a china owl, and the Great Outdoors.

Put two babies, some wildlife, a bowl of cookies, and Beethoven together and what have you got?

“The Exploits of Kylin” (I thought it was a little obvious…)

NOTE: This only includes the prelude (intro). The First Chapter (In Which Cranberry Avenue Becomes A Little Crowded) has two narrators, both with different fonts. It is not possible for me to include it since WordPress does not allow me to change the font (unfortunately)

So, then, this is an excerpt. A preview! An extraordinary peek into How Stories Become Un-Stories*

*It is not permitted to ask what an “Un-Story” is.

Let us commence!!!

Prelude

I

Prelude: an introduction before the main part.

So, this is a prelude. Who knows, maybe the writer was just too lazy to call it an introduction. After all, prelude is seven letters and introduction is who-knows-how-many. But before we let our beloved writer (who, by the way, is juggling two novels, a sore head, and a possible cup of tea) start our story, we must stake out the properties.

This story is about a little boy and his friend, with a lot of things thrown in between. This story is about bravery, thievery, curiosity, and cookies. This story… is no ordinary story.

Let me tell you, Reader, that in this story, you will encounter scandalous acts of unscrewing cookie jars. You will gasp at the rashness of a person who decided that baking was easy. You will exclaim in horror at the notion of wearing pants under a onesie!

But let us not get to that yet. We still have yet to start.

II

Look. Isn’t this amazing? That a couple thousand words can fit in a parcel of flimsy yet solid sheets of wood?

So a story starts. Written by black, five-second printing ink.

Let’s hope it’s a good one.

It better be.

III

The problem is, the brownies.

(Stalling. That’s what she’s doing. Writer’s block is no small matter.)

But the (exhausted) author is not talking about those sugar-filled, brown-or-black, crispy-crusted, stick-to-your-teeth hooligans. Don’t give her that “I haven’t seen a brownie” excuse!

Brownies. What a pain. Probably a third of this book has the word “brownie” in it (most likely followed by “nuisance”, “silly-nilly”, and “absolute terrors”), which is why you will need to know what they Really Are.

No. Don’t worry. This isn’t biology class. The writer would hate to admit it, but she is Lazy and Likes to Procrastinate as much as she has a Headache and Would Dearly Like a Rest.

(She can’t call asleep as fast as you can. That’s the pain of being a chameleon.)

Brownies; what have they got to do with a little boy and his friends?

S’pose you’ll find out, sooner or later.

Brownies never hide.

More to come sooner. Thank you. Author

Extra Note to Reader: A china owl is not an owl from China. A china owl is one crafted from china/porcelain and very delicately painted. Owls are hard to paint. I should know that. It is hard to lift the details of the feathers from the wings. Have you noticed? By the way: the Kylin story is currently being illustrated. The chameleon-writer does not know when the sketches will be done. Apparently, chameleons can barely hold a pencil.